As a part of international reserves, gold reserves are only one aspect of measuring national wealth. High gold reserves will enhance the ability to resist the impact of international investment funds, help make up the balance of payments deficit, and help maintain a country's economic stability. However, excessive gold reserves will lead to an increase in the holding cost of the central bank, because the yield of gold reserves is basically zero in the long run, and the importance of gold reserves has been greatly reduced after the disintegration of the gold standard.

At present, China's gold reserves are about 600 tons, that is, 600 million grams, and the average per capita is less than 0.5 grams. Of course, the number of banknotes issued by the state is not limited to these.

The function is to adjust the total money supply in the market from the perspective of monetary banking.